Parkdale
Parkdale Hotel
One of Toronto’s oldest neighbourhoods, Parkdale was born as a suburban destination for Toronto’s upper-class, offering luxury living right on Lake Ontario. The character of the neighbourhood changed in the 1950s, however, when the building of the Gardiner expressway separated the buildings from the shoreline, driving the affluent further North and West, leaving their expansive homes to be transformed into apartments and rooming houses. Over the years it came to be known as one of Toronto’s most diverse neighbourhoods, its traditionally low rent proving irresistible to recent immigrants.
These days, however, Parkdale is going through something of a Renaissance, as new owners seek to gentrify the neighbourhood. Once the site of empty storefronts, Queen st. West has been reborn as a destination for boutique and bohemian dining and shopping. Residents can enjoy delicious, locally grown cuisine and fine wines at Parkdale restaurants like The Local Kitchen or Parts and Labour or take in a meal with live music at the trendy Mitzi’s Sister. Late risers will love the all day breakfast and fair trade organic coffees offered at Poor John’s Café. Notable among the iconoclastic businesses is the Queen West Antique Centre, one of the city’s largest vintage furniture stores. The character of the area is changing as well, with resident-driven improvements, such as a public garden, and plentiful examples of street art, helping bring a sense of community to Parkdale.
Stunning Parkdale Bridge
While once the Gardiner may have seemed like an unsightly blight to the thought of Parkdale as the picture of ’40s suburbia, now it, along with a number of streetcar lines, lie at the heart of Parkdale’s appeal. Located just minutes from the downtown core, Parkdale is a convenient commute for anyone working in the city, and the local Catholic and Public schools ensure that even families will now find Parkdale a welcoming environment. With land still reasonably priced, there couldn’t be a better time to make a home in Parkdale, a neighbourhood on its way back up.